Murder on the Pier by Merryn Allingham

 

First Line: Flora Steele stood gazing at the buffet table, admiring its plentiful display but longing to be elsewhere.

 

Mystery writer Jack Carrington isn't thrilled to be at the heart of yet another murder investigation, but what can he do? On a day's outing in Brighton with bookshop owner Flora Steele, Flora found the body of young Polly Dakers in the sea below the pier. Polly was a beautiful young woman from their village of Abbeymead who wanted a career in modeling so badly that she'd grasp at any opportunity to achieve her dream. 

The police are convinced that Polly either tripped and fell to her death or jumped and committed suicide. Flora disagrees, and when she disagrees, Jack knows that nothing is going to stop her from conducting her own investigation-- even if her own life is in danger as a result. He's simply got to tag along in an attempt to keep the headstrong amateur sleuth safe. It's the only decent thing to do.

~

I'm happy to report that this second Flora Steele mystery is just as enjoyable as the first, The Bookshop Murder. This time readers are taken to the seaside town of Brighton where Flora and Jack deal with a theatrical group and a line-up of suspects that includes a sugar daddy, a spurned wife, an unsavory character from London, and others. Flora's business has yet to fully recover from what happened in the first book. She is trying to drive sales up by various means, but her investigation here in Murder on the Pier kept her away too much yet again. Either Flora is going to be a detective, or she's going to be a bookshop owner. So far the two occupations aren't blending together well. I'm looking forward to seeing how the author deals with this in future books.

Once again, the telling little details about the era add depth to the story. I think most Americans, if they're even aware that there was rationing in this country and in the United Kingdom, believe everything snapped back to normal immediately after World War II ended. It snapped back a lot faster here in the United States, but it took years for rationing to end in the United Kingdom. Meat rationing had ended just the year before (1955), and now Flora lets us know just how precious a brand-new pair of shoes is. Besides, her main source of transportation is Betty, her bicycle. 

Readers learn more about Jack in this second book as he and Flora become even more comfortable with each other. When Jack's old flame arrives on his doorstep, I narrowly avoided rolling my eyes, and I'm glad I did. I really like how Jack dealt with the situation. The repartee between Flora and Jack is one of the strongest parts of this series. That and the presence of a young boy named Charlie. With Jack feeling ever more protective of Flora, I do believe he should formulate some sort of fitness regimen to build up his strength and endurance. Why? Because he spent a lot of time dragging Flora out of some hair-raising situations in this book-- none of which were what I call TSTL (Too Stupid To Live).

Interesting characters? Check. Strong setting and historical detail? Check. Fun dialogue? Check. What about the mystery? Well, it's a good'un, too. Although I was blinded by the light of deduction before Flora, she was nipping close at my heels. So yes, I'm looking forward to my next visit to Abbeymead to see what Jack and Flora (and Charlie) get up to next.

Murder on the Pier by Merryn Allingham

eISBN: 9781800198852

Bookouture © 2021

eBook, 270 pages

Historical Mystery, #2 Flora Steele mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Bookshop Murder by Merryn Allingham

 

First Lines: Abbeymead, Sussex, 1955. Locking the shop door carefully behind her, Flora heaved the last parcel of books into the basket.

 

Expecting the day to be like any other in quiet little Abbeymead, bookshop owner Flora Steele gets the shock of her life when she opens All's Well to find the dead body of a young man on the floor amongst the shelves.

 

The discovery turns her life upside down, and the reputation of her business takes a nosedive amid all the virulent village gossip. Who was the young man? Why did he break into her bookshop? There's nothing else Flora can do but solve the mystery herself-- with the aid of reluctant reclusive mystery writer Jack Carrington. 

~

What's not to like about an English village mystery that takes place ten years after World War II and concerns a bookshop? That's what I thought, too, when I picked up Merryn Allingham's very first Flora Steele mystery, The Bookshop Murder. As I began to read and the pages turned, it got even better. Buried treasure? A priest hole? Secret passages? Definitely my cup of tea.

Allingham puts us right in the era with little details like Flora delivering books by bicycle and the fact that meat had come off rationing only the year before and people still felt eating it was a wicked indulgence. Flora's Aunt Violet, who left her the bookshop, lost her fiancé in World War I and raised Flora after a car accident killed her parents. (How many parents have lost their lives due to car accidents in crime fiction I wonder?) The village also plays its part in the story by spreading all sorts of scandalous gossip and whispers of gruesome doings and haunted bookshops. The coup de grâce involves a bus driver in a neighboring village, but I'll let you find out for yourselves what he did.

The mystery is a good one, and so is the setting, so... what about the characters? Any traditional or cozy mystery worth its salt has to have characters that readers can care about. The Bookshop Murder rises to the occasion in this, too. Flora is intelligent, hard-working, and even though she seems to know how to get her own way, her life so far has been one of doing for others and putting her own dreams aside. Once she decides to enlist the help of mystery writer Jack Carrington, the story shifts gears and becomes even more enjoyable to read.

Jack has his own past that readers have to learn about. He's decided to shut himself away in a house outside the village, and he's hired a young boy to deliver food and books so he doesn't have to deal with anyone else. That is until the boy becomes ill and Flora decides a mystery writer is the perfect person to help her solve a crime. Watching the two work together and become used to each other bodes well for future books in the series.

If mysteries reminiscent of Miss Marple and Miss Seeton are your favorites, then by all means get your hands on a copy of Merryn Allingham's The Bookshop Murder. It has all the hallmarks of being the start of a beautiful reading relationship.

The Bookshop Murder by Merryn Allingham

eISBN: 9781800196810

Bookouture © 2021

eBook, 256 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Flora Steele mystery

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley